Glacier Bay National Park
“Terminally cute” is how the sweet whiskered face of a sea otter has been described; we agreed whole heartedly this morning as the Sea Bird cruised by Boulder Island. A squeaky high-pitched cry of complaint from a young pup could clearly be heard. Held securely by the scruff of its neck, the mother paddled with the complaining youngster towards the safety of the kelp. This was the start of our discoveries in Glacier Bay National Park, in pond-calm waters under clear skies and surrounded by snow-capped peaks, the day held great promise.
The fringes of South Marble Island belched, bellowed and roared as we approached, wafting over on the prevailing breeze came an odiferous greeting as well. The sources for these sensory stimuli, Northern sea lions, rimmed the slick rock shoreline and their calls, commentary and general morning discussions could easily be heard as we focused on the other inhabitants of the island: pelagic cormorants, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, eagles and the much anticipated, tufted puffins. Much time was spent pointing out the puffins, with their attractive tassel tufts of feathers elegantly arched over unseen ears. Screaming orange and yellow beaks punctuated their rotund faces, a flashy color combination on a black bird, but one that evolution seems to have fashioned as suitable for them.
A slow navigation around the puffin-less Puffin Island produced a brief look at a wary coyote. The animal disappeared into the grassy edge only to emerge a short time later amongst the beach boulders. An unexpected sighting in this snow and ice surrounded environment.
Tidal Inlet may not have seemed the “singles bar” sort of locale most of us would imagine, but a group of three brown bears, two massive males and one apparently seductive blond female, thought differently. As the smaller female climbed with a light-footed agility up the steep cliff sides, one of the males pursued, at times with some difficulty. The second male gave up the effort early on and came down to the waters edge to sit in the cool waters of the bay, we anthropomorphized this into a “cold shower.”
Further up into the Park we came to the gleaming white and blue face of Margerie Glacier. The glacier held our attention as it groaned and fortunately for us, calved and splashed its way into the sea. Grand Pacific Glacier, while grand in name, was only given a cursory glance, as its dirt-covered face more resembled one of a child that had had a spoon-less encounter with a bowl of chocolate pudding.
Jaw Point lived up to its name as we turned the corner into Johns Hopkins Inlet. The impact of the stunning views of the glacier as well as the surrounding snow covered peaks, reduced conversations to a whisper. It seemed sacrilege to speak at full volume in such a vast and pure setting.
Was this what we expected when we decided to travel to Southeast Alaska and have a look around? Probably not. We have some younger travelers with us this week, and one has agreed to write about his experiences. We share this contribution with you now from Christopher Chubb, age 11:
“Before I got on the boat, I was thinking what it would be like. My cabin, other kids, the passengers, the crew. As soon as I saw my cabin I knew it was cool. The passengers and crew acted as if they’d known me forever. A new friend invited me to kayak. We saw otters and lots of birds. Our small boat went places big ones couldn’t go and we got to stop and watch the animals play. The pacific white-sided dolphins and the killer whales were my favorites. One special day we watched a Kermode white bear. Coming back from a Zodiac tour, I got to drive, that was fun. It was a really fun trip and you don’t get that many opportunities in your normal life to see and do the things you do on a cruise.
“Terminally cute” is how the sweet whiskered face of a sea otter has been described; we agreed whole heartedly this morning as the Sea Bird cruised by Boulder Island. A squeaky high-pitched cry of complaint from a young pup could clearly be heard. Held securely by the scruff of its neck, the mother paddled with the complaining youngster towards the safety of the kelp. This was the start of our discoveries in Glacier Bay National Park, in pond-calm waters under clear skies and surrounded by snow-capped peaks, the day held great promise.
The fringes of South Marble Island belched, bellowed and roared as we approached, wafting over on the prevailing breeze came an odiferous greeting as well. The sources for these sensory stimuli, Northern sea lions, rimmed the slick rock shoreline and their calls, commentary and general morning discussions could easily be heard as we focused on the other inhabitants of the island: pelagic cormorants, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, eagles and the much anticipated, tufted puffins. Much time was spent pointing out the puffins, with their attractive tassel tufts of feathers elegantly arched over unseen ears. Screaming orange and yellow beaks punctuated their rotund faces, a flashy color combination on a black bird, but one that evolution seems to have fashioned as suitable for them.
A slow navigation around the puffin-less Puffin Island produced a brief look at a wary coyote. The animal disappeared into the grassy edge only to emerge a short time later amongst the beach boulders. An unexpected sighting in this snow and ice surrounded environment.
Tidal Inlet may not have seemed the “singles bar” sort of locale most of us would imagine, but a group of three brown bears, two massive males and one apparently seductive blond female, thought differently. As the smaller female climbed with a light-footed agility up the steep cliff sides, one of the males pursued, at times with some difficulty. The second male gave up the effort early on and came down to the waters edge to sit in the cool waters of the bay, we anthropomorphized this into a “cold shower.”
Further up into the Park we came to the gleaming white and blue face of Margerie Glacier. The glacier held our attention as it groaned and fortunately for us, calved and splashed its way into the sea. Grand Pacific Glacier, while grand in name, was only given a cursory glance, as its dirt-covered face more resembled one of a child that had had a spoon-less encounter with a bowl of chocolate pudding.
Jaw Point lived up to its name as we turned the corner into Johns Hopkins Inlet. The impact of the stunning views of the glacier as well as the surrounding snow covered peaks, reduced conversations to a whisper. It seemed sacrilege to speak at full volume in such a vast and pure setting.
Was this what we expected when we decided to travel to Southeast Alaska and have a look around? Probably not. We have some younger travelers with us this week, and one has agreed to write about his experiences. We share this contribution with you now from Christopher Chubb, age 11:
“Before I got on the boat, I was thinking what it would be like. My cabin, other kids, the passengers, the crew. As soon as I saw my cabin I knew it was cool. The passengers and crew acted as if they’d known me forever. A new friend invited me to kayak. We saw otters and lots of birds. Our small boat went places big ones couldn’t go and we got to stop and watch the animals play. The pacific white-sided dolphins and the killer whales were my favorites. One special day we watched a Kermode white bear. Coming back from a Zodiac tour, I got to drive, that was fun. It was a really fun trip and you don’t get that many opportunities in your normal life to see and do the things you do on a cruise.
